The Proposal
by teddyshoney
Summary: After his fight with Finn, Puck decides that he needs something new. Or someone.
1. Advice

After his fall-out with Finn over Quinn and the baby, Puck felt...different. Lonely wasn't really a word he liked to use to describe the hollow emptiness that he felt, but that word really described it best. Finn wanted nothing to do with him; Quinn seemed to blame him for her ruined relationship with Finn; everywhere he went, there were whispers and giggling behind his back.

What he really needed was a distraction, he decided. So, Puck did what Puck knew best. He sweet-talked his way into a pretty girl's bed, rocked her world, and left before she wok up the next morning. Except, that didn't fill him up the way it used to, so he tried it again and again until after innumerable tries, he realized he needed something else. Or someone else.

It wasn't like he hadn't noticed during Glee club. He'd seen the sideways glances, the appraising eyes during musical numbers, the change of chair choice, the unabashed eye contact as they passed in the halls. Puck also hadn't failed to notice how all that noticing was making him feel. There was just one problem: the pre-disclosed, VERY obvious crush on Finn that Puck's newest crush had. Also, there was the fact that Puck wasn't gay. Was he?

After going back and forth all day during Glee club and a large part of the night as he stared up at the ceiling, contemplating what he wanted out of his life, he'd made a decision. Ignoring the butterflies in his stomach, unusual for him, he walked up to Mercedes' locker where she was switching textbooks fro her next class. "Mercedes." He hoped his voice wouldn't betray his usually cool demeanor as he leaned against the lockers, head against his fist.

The look Mercedes gave him was decidedly unimpressed as she allowed her gaze to sweep over him once before locking his eyes in her fierce ones. "What do you want, Puckerman?" she asked, taking off down the hall.

Puck turned swiftly to keep up with her. "I just need to ask you a few questions." He lowered his voice. "About Kurt."

Mercedes stopped in her tracks, turning swiftly to look at him, confused. "About Kurt?" She made no effort to keep her voice down. "What do YOU need to know about Kurt?" Her hands settled on her hips. Uh oh. Not a good sign.

"Can you keep your voice down? Please?" he asked her, ushering her into the quiet alcove of an abandoned classroom. "I need to know what he likes, how to surprise him."

"What are you trying to do, Puckerman?" Her voice dripped with venom. "You tryin' to pull some kind of nasty joke? So help me, I will-"

"No," he cut her off, glancing worriedly at the open door. He took a step toward her, voice barely above a whisper. "No. It's not like that. I want—I like Kurt. I want...I want to ask him out."

"You what?" Maybe talking to Mercedes was a bad idea; she could not keep her voice down. "You want to ask Kurt out? That's a funny one, Puckerman." She turned to leave.

Puck grabbed her arm, his eyes boring into her's as he gave her his best wounded puppy look. He needed her to know this wasn't a game; this was for real.

Mercedes was beginning to feel a tiny bit bad as she jerked her arm from Puck's grasp. "Look. I don't know what to do with that. I didn't peg you as swinging that way, but even if you do, I don't think Kut would ever go for it. Not after the way you treated him at the beginning of the year." She shot him a glare. "Besides that, he's got a bad boy crush on Finn."

"I know. I've thought of all that. I know he will probably laugh in my face or spit on me for asking after the way I've treated him. I'd deserve that. But I have to try. I really want to be with him. And I know he's got a crush on Finn, but that can't go anywhere. I know for a fact Finn's straight, plus I heard a rumor somewhere that Kurt and Finn's parents are dating anyway. I've thought about all of that, Mercedes, but I've got to try. I like him."

Mercedes felt her heart melt, just a little. This was a side of Puck she'd never seen before, a realm far outside of his usual bad boy persona. Maybe he really had changed. Maybe this fight with Finn and the baby thing with Quinn had turned his character around, made him realize a few things about himself, even. New things. Whatever it was, she was feeling badly for him, so she relented. "He likes flowers, surprises, and being romantic. That boy basically lives and breathes musicals. If they've done it on screen or on stage, that's the romantic gesture he'd like."

Mercedes could see the relief wash over Puck, his shoulders visibly relaxing. He turned one of his trademark grins on her, flashing his teeth. Quickly, he pulled her into a side hug, releasing her almost as suddenly, causing her to stumble a bit. "Thanks," he mumbled out, turning to the doorway. A hand on his shoulder made him look back for just a moment.

"You ever touch him wrong or break his heart, Puckerman," Mercedes growled, her voice low, "I'll find you. You'll regret it."

"I promise I won't hurt him. I swear. Thanks again." Puck tried to move out into the hallway again. Armed with a jumping point, he wanted to spend the next hour of geometry class dreaming up the perfect way to ask Kurt out. Mercedes still had her hand on his shoulder, though, so he turned back, looking questioningly at her.

Mercedes had been watching him, hadn't missed the tide of emotions flit across his face as he gazed into space for just a moment, betraying his thoughts to the world. "I"ll root for you, Puckerman," was all she said as she took her hand off of his shoulder.

Puck grinned, genuinely happy. Giving her a thumbs up, he headed to class. For once, geometry wasn't going to suck.


	2. Getting Ready

It had take two full days of planning, thinking, and prepping before Puck felt like he had a chance in hell of Kurt saying yes to him. He'd watched a few musicals, but nothing seemed appropriate for this monumental occasion, so he'd decided to strike out on his own. He wanted Kurt to remember this day as specially theirs, not a copy of something else.

He shouldn't have been surprised, he realized in hindsight, considering falling in love with a man was outside of the realm most people would consider normal for him, but this dating proposal was making him do a lot of things that were outside of character for him. Like watching musicals, for starters. Or this morning. He'd gotten up early. Going out to his mother's rose bushes, he'd picked a twelve stem bouquet. Now, he was at school nearly half an hour before most kids started to arrive, laying out his plan. Secondly, he'd actually had a plan instead of flying by the seat of his pants.

Puck shoved a hand roughly over his mo-hawk and ran through his mental checklist. Roses in Kurt's locker with the "secret admirer" note attached? Check! Home-burned CD in his backpack to slip onto Kurt's desk during 3rd period history when he makes his morning trip to the restroom? Check! Small box of chocolates to slip onto Kurt's lunch tray while he gets his small cup of light ranch for his salad? Check! Attached note to meet his "secret admirer" in the auditorium 10 minutes before Glee practice that afternoon? Check! If everything Puck had planned went off without a hitch, he'd have a boyfriend before Glee that afternoon.

Satisfied that everything was ready, Puck grabbed his backpack and guitar and headed to the choir room. He figured he'd spend a little time practicing his song for Kurt before everyone began to show up for the day. Not that he needed to practice. He just needed something to keep his nervous hands busy. Three o'clock couldn't come quickly enough!


	3. Puckurt

Puck was elated! Everything had gone very well, as far as he could tell by the faces Kurt had been making all day. Puck couldn't get enough of the awed expression Kurt made upon seeing each of his gifts, the way his lips pulled back to cover his teeth as he sucked in his breath, his mouth in the shape of an "O," the twinkle in his gray eyes totally giving away his delight. Puck's favorite thing from the day had to be the melting of Kurt's expression from awed to the exuberant smile that lit up his face as he read the attached notes. As well as that had seemed to go, though, Puck was still nervous that Kurt might not show. He scrubbed his hands down his jeans again, cursing his body for sweating this much. He did not want to stink! He quickly ran through the chords of the song again, singing quietly under his breath when he heard a few small sounds at the bottom of the stage. He shipped his head up and took in the sight of Kurt standing there, staring at him in shock.

"Noah Puckerman?" Kurt squeaked.

Now that the moment was here, Puck's mouth felt dry. He licked his lips and tried to swallow, but he still didn't feel better. Finally, in a husky voice that was barely above a whisper, he managed to say, "Shocked?"

"That elicited a small chuckle from Kurt. "Yes. I didn't expect that my "secret admirer" was you." Kurt made air quotes. "Hell, I'd never have guessed you in a million years. You're straight!" Another chuckle came from his lips as Kurt tried to relax.

Puck laughed, too. "Yeah. I thought so, too. But, lately, I've been noticing something." He shook his head. It was silly to beat around the bush. "Not something. You. I've been noticing you."

Despite not really understanding what Noah meant, Kurt was blushing. He hoped that Noah would go on, but when he didn't, Kurt prodded him. "Noticing me?"

"Yeah..I've noticed..." This didn't seem right, Puck talking to Kurt from on stage with Kurt down below. He needed Kurt to come up there with him. "I'm sorry, Kurt," he said, laying his guitar to the side. "Will you come up here, please. It doesn't feel right with you down there."

"Um, sure," Kurt stammered, thrown off by the apology. As he made his way up the stairs, however, he couldn't ignore the twinge of excitement that swept through him. No one had ever done anything like this for him before.

When Kurt was close enough, Noah grabbed his hands, pulling him closer 'til he stood directly in front of Noah, Kurt's legs almost brushing his. Looking up at Kurt from the stool didn't feel right, either, so Noah stood, then tilted Kurt's chin up until their eyes met.

"I know it's hard to understand," Puck began, trying to find his confidence, "but until a few weeks ago, I never really noticed you. I knew you were there, sure, but I never SAW you. Not like now. After my fight with Finn," Noah swallowed, continuing, "I thought I needed a relationship, so I fooled around with some girls, but nothing every really seemed right. I kept trying to put my finger on why, but I couldn't really figure it out until the other day in Glee. You were just talking to Mercedes, leaned over giggling at something, no different than normal. 'Cept, I'm different than normal because I thought you looked cute. Then, I started noticing other stuff, too. Like how good your singing is and how awesome your eyes are." Noah stopped to catch his breath, putting up one finger to silence Kurt when he tried to say something. Puck wasn't done yet. "And I think you must have noticed something, too, or maybe I'm just crazy, but you started sitting closer to me, watching me from the corner of your eye. The more I got to watch you, Kurt, the more enamored with you I got." Noah squeezed Kurt's hands for just a second before continuing. "You're such a sweet guy, so nice to your friends, thoughtful and cute. Over this past week, in Glee club, I think I've..." He took a deep breath. "I think I've fallen in love with you. So," another deep breath, "Kurt Elizabeth Hummel." He stopped, grinning. The look on Kurt's face was priceless. "I saw your middle name on your file when I broke into Figgins' office to get your locker combo," Noah explained. Quickly, he schooled his features again, a difficult thing to do with Kurt's disbelieving expression clear on his face. "Kurt Elizabeth Hummel, will you go out with me?"

Kurt didn't know what to say. There were several things he had thought of during Noah's long speech, but now, armed with the knowledge that bad boy Noah Puckerman was IN LOVE with him, hearing him so plainly and sweetly ask Kurt out, Kurt was too overcome with emotion to remember them. He was silent for a moment as he tried to clear his mind and focus.

Did he, Kurt Hummel, want to go out with Noah Puckerman? Sure, Noah was cute, and he was right. Noah had been catching his eye recently. But, Kurt had a crush on Finn. And, he'd only just gotten their parents together, giving him an in to spend more time with Finn.

But that was silly, he reasoned with himself. Finn had never shown any interest in men, but here was Noah Puckerman, standing before him, professing his love. He'd be a fool to pass this up. But what about girls, he wondered.

Noah must have been reading his mind because he answered Kurt before Kurt had even spoken his concern. "I want you to know, I'm done with girls. I think I've always been...this way. Gay, I mean," he said, forcing the word out of his mouth. He'd never said that out loud before. "I've never asked a girl out before because I never felt a connection to any of them. Sure, I went out with some more than once, but that was just for a good romp, something I never really loved anyway. I just thought that was what I was supposed to do. I'm a guy. But, as I've been watching you, I've come to realize that I can have feelings for someone. It doesn't have to be empty promises just to bump uglies. I'm done with that, Kurt. I just want you. I know I don't deserve you after all I've put you through, but I promise that I've changed. I'm in love with you." Noah looked right into Kurt's eyes, hoping Kurt would understand just how serious he was about this.

Kurt swallowed the huge lump in his throat, pleading with his eyes not to spill over. If he could hear things like that everyday, how could he give that up? Slowly, he nodded at Noah, not trusting his voice immediately. Opening his lips, he released a slow breath of air to calm his pounding heart. "Yes," he breathed, voice barely above a whisper. A tear or two trickled down his cheek as he spoke. "Yes, Noah Puckerman. I'll go out with you."

Noah crushed the other boy to his chest in a powerful hug, overcome by the joy he felt at Kurt's simple three-letter word. "Thank you, Kurt," he whispered into Kurt's ear. "Thank you." Noah released Kurt without letting go so that he could pull back just enough to look deep into Kurt's eyes as he brought one hand to Kurt's cheek. Noah rubbed his thumb across the perfectly soft skin before bringing his lips down to meet Kurt's eyes sliding shut.

Kurt's breath caught in his throat, but he kissed back, loving the feeling of Noah's hot, firm lips against his own. It was a moment of bliss.

The kiss didn't last nearly long enough for either of the boys, but Noah knew they were already late for Glee. As he pulled hack, he put his forehead against Kurt's, reveling for just a moment in the fact that he had just kissed his boyfriend on the William McKinley High School stage. "We should go to Glee," Puck drawled.

"Yeah," Kurt sighed. Reluctantly, the boys parted. As they bean to gather their stuff, Kurt caught sight of Noah's guitar again. "Were you going to play?" he questioned, slinging his bag onto his shoulder.

"Yeah. But it can wait 'til later. If that's okay with you," Noah said, his gaze swinging to Kurt.

Kurt giggled. "That's fine, but I can't wait!"

The two walked down the hallway side by side, the silence comfortable between them as they both came down from the euphoric high. Just as they reached the choir room, Kurt put his hand out on Noah's arm, stopping him as he reached for the door handle. "It was perfect, by the way," Kurt said, smiling. "The surprises, the proposal, all of it."

"I'm glad you liked it. Never done anything like that before." Noah beamed.

"You've set a high bar for yourself," Kurt teased, squeezing Puck's arm. Then, his face became serious. "Being out is hard, you know. I'm excited to date you, and I definitely want to show you off, but if you're not ready, we don't have to..." he trailed off, gesturing toward the choir room full of their peers and friends.

"I'm proud to be with you, Kurt," Noah said, voice brimming with love. "It'll be hard, but I don't mind. You're worth it."

Kurt grinned, nodding as Noah opened the door.

As they entered, Noah's hand flashed out, grabbing Kurt's small hand in his large one. "Alright, guys." Puck was back to his usual boisterous self, bad boy attitude firmly in place. Raising Kurt's hand, still clutched in his own, into the air, Puck grinned. "The Puckasaurus has an announcement!"


End file.
